Antifungal Poly(lactic acid) Films Containing Thymol and Carvone

The goal of this study was to develop antifungal poly(lactic acid) films for food packaging applications. The antifungal compounds, thymol and R-(-)-carvone were incorporated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based polymer at 10, 15 and 20% by weight. Film converting process consists of three steps including melt blending, sheet extrusion and biaxial stretching. The incorporation of antifungal compounds into the polymer matrix resulted in decreased Tg and Tm, increased gas permeabilility, reduced tensile strength and increased elongation at break of the antifungal PLA films